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Microfinance and MicroInsurance can help entrepreneurs living in parts of the world where there exist systematic challenges to economic development.
Human and natural resource exploitation over centuries fueled Western industrial revolutions but prevented African countries from developing on par with the rest of the world.
A replication of the famous GapMinder visualization inspired by Hans Rosling.
Wealthy countries have access to more capital due to higher wages and more savings.
Well developed financial infrastructures also help to insulate businesses against shocks.
About Microinsurance
  • Wealthy countries like OECD members have well established financial markets that provide assurance for business owners to make productive risks.

  • Entrepreneurs in developing countries don’t have access to robust financial institutions yet also face greater risks (ie: climate risks, political instability and weak currencies as a result of inflation).

  • When faced with these perils, low income entrepreneurs make decisions like dipping into their limited savings, spending less on food and other necessities or cutting school fees by taking their kids out of school.

  • Microinsurance– A financial service that protects low-income people against defined risk perils in exchange for regular small premium payments proportionate to the likelihood and cost of the risk involved.
Project Objective

Background

Enterprise in capital markets presents a number of risks and challenges including lack of access to formal finance to sustain businesses and insurance to protect against losses. This is because low-income business owners do not have the funds to participate in the formal capital markets or insurance sectors or if they do, they are classified as high risk and are penalized with higher interest rates. Starting in the late 1950s, microfinance as a service has become a viable alternative for low-income business owners to protect themselves against shocks while operating their businesses. Microinsurance has also become an invaluable tool to help the poor who disproportionally face greater risks from perils like health issues and environmental dangers because of climate risks as they operate their businesses.

This capstone project is a full stack development tool to educate the public about inclusive financial services like microfinance and microinsurance.

The project was inspired by published research the primary investigator conducted with entrepreneurs in developing countries while enrolled as an undergraduate in Economics and conversations about microinsurance the researcher conducted because microinsurance is a type of low-cost insurance designed for low-income individuals .

This full stack development project serves as a primary project deliverable for an important service provider in the microinsurance industry.
Copyright © Loretta Agyemang 2019 Capstone the MSc in Data Science at the University of Chicago